Gaming as a family is a great way to bond and spend quality time together. It also gives parents a chance to enjoy game time with their children and make memories that will last a lifetime. Gaming can be a great way to teach kids about teamwork, problem-solving, and competition in a healthy and fun way. In addition to games relieving stress and delivering fun, there are some that provide other benefits that most movies & TV shows don't deliver.
In the case of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, your children also learn about money management, which is a great thing to instill in them at an early age. So, next time you're looking for a fun way to spend some quality family time, break out the controllers and give family gaming a try with Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons might come off to some as this single-player game where you interact with a bunch of NPC (non-playable characters), but... you'd be wrong. In addition to the online experience, you can also play with 4 people via the same system or up to 8 people via local wireless on individual Nintendo Switch systems.
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you start off on a deserted island with a little team making the experience as smooth as possible for you. You will have to explore, collect items, create tools, etc. Over time your island will go from being not so deserted to the island everyone's writing home about.
This game had to be added to this list, because other players not only have the ability to start a game on their own island, but they can also start on yours. While it's cool to visit other islands and see what's popping, it's really awesome to have that community experience where your family's on the same island working together. It introduces an interesting dynamic where you might find yourselves talking about new announcements and developments based on something one or all of you have accomplished.
It's good to have this one in your library because it's a shared experience, even though you have your individual accomplishment to tackle. So even if someone was unable to enjoy a multiplayer session (maybe they were sick and getting as much rest as possible), they're going to be able to see all the updates. Even if you aren't under the weather, and it's just one of those games family members play here and there when you aren't indulging in family fun gaming, It's a cool experience worth sharing as a family. One thing that I've done with this game is talking to my daughter even more regarding money management.
In the game, you will have a home loan that you need to pay off, and I explained to her how it's similar to real life. Even in terms of just saving bells and not spending them all, it puts you in a better position to get other in-game items that you may really like. So if you come across something that you think would prove to be useful advice to your little gamer, this could be a great game to use as an example (bonding + teaching + gaming).
- Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility
- Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself
- Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools! Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch
- Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life- even your hemisphere! Each day holds the potential for surprises and discoveries
- Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more!
- Show off your paradise- play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players
I wanted to include the things this game offers because it's not an action game or anything of the sort (unless you're chasing sea creatures down), but it's gameplay that my family loves.
Before I jump in, shout out to the firm grip team for supplying the product for this review!
I don't think there's much to say outside of the categories below... so let's jump right in.
Build: First and foremost... I want to point out that these gloves are described as having 3D Knit technology, which gives them a second-skin fit. I'll come back to the way they feel based on this tech, but for now, I can say that the gloves are durable as far as the build quality goes. The top of the glove features the knitted area which I confirm is a tight breathable knit.
Firm Grip's palm side features these little triangles in a nice useful pattern, which covers the full palm, fingers, and even around to the purlicue and the inner sides of the thumb + pointer fingers. So the gloves ensure that you can grip pipes and just about anything else without exhausting the hands to hold whatever you're trying to grip up. The look of these gloves reminds me of MMA & ATV gloves, which is awesome... because there is a sea of plain work gloves out there.
As seen here, you get a velcro strap to ensure that your gloves remain in place. What you don't see (at a glance)... is the padded area that covers the knuckles and upper area of the fingers. Nice touch because some gloves give no cover in this area and sometimes you have to lean or get up or down on your fists, but also let's not forget about those times where our hands hit something by mistake. Knuckle + Corner of a Board = Brace yourself for some pain... unless they're protected!
These gloves feature a little grip near the wrist area so that you can easily pull the gloves up and on. Firm Grip: Dura-Knit Work Gloves also feature little holes in the palm side area to keep the hands cool. If you're familiar with how hot your hands can get with certain gloves, I'm sure you appreciate this feature.
Comfort: These gloves are described as having 3D Knit Technology, and... have a second-skin fit. I'd say that you should get the right size to make it true because you don't want these gloves to be loose while trying to grip something (say no to slack). They feel better than some other gloves I've worn, and I did get this Spiderman vibe while wearing them, but... I still had to take the gloves off for intricate things (but they are work gloves). The intricate things I mention, refer to things like trying to screw tiny screws into something.
I won't say that everyone will have the exact same experience because we don't all have the same fingers & hand sizes. I tried to pull the gloves on as far as I could and strap them on, but I still got a slight looseness (very slight). I'm pretty sure someone with my hand size and slightly longer fingers would be good to go. Overall, they feel good, they aren't restrictive and I've been able to use my phone with ease, carry boards, etc. I mention the phone... because you don't have to take your glove off to make a call, answer the phone, or whatever else you plan on using it for during your handy work.
Comfort-wise I can't complain, the holes spare my hands the sweat along with the knit (no pruney fingers so far). I wore them for a max of about 3.5 hours, and you end up forgetting about them while working because they don't give that weird stranglehold on your hands with no room to breathe. I like that, because if you have a long day... you need good gloves so that you don't have to give your hands a break outside of lunchtime.
Grip:The grip on these gloves is made of silicone and actually provides a solid grip.
Don't believe me? No worries... click the play button!
The grip of these gloves had me wondering if they could assist with free running. I won't say that I'm ready to run out and parkour at the risk of landing on the back of my head... but I must say... I thought about it for the Spiderman cosplay fans and whether the gloves would help with scaling half walls.
Price:Pricewise the Firm Grip: Dura-Knit Work Gloves come in at... $14.97. This is deep in the impulse purchase area because they're $15, they don't suck, I'm loving the grip + comfort, and... I can use them for a variety of things (outdoors & indoors). These gloves are available now at Home Depot & HomeDepot.com (duh of the day!).
